


the only thing worse than a murderer is a child

by orphan_account



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Choking, Gen, Strangulation, generally a very vague fic based upon head canons, implied PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-01-25
Packaged: 2018-09-19 19:16:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9456896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: All too suddenly she realizes that Kokichi feels all too small in her hands, all too skinny, and that this is a child she’s holding, a child who’s done terrible things but a fucking child nonetheless.And maybe it’s her talent, maybe it’s that goodness hidden deep within the recesses of her mind that Kaede was talking about, but......suddenly, Maki Harukawa isn’t all too certain about killing a child.





	

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILER WARNING FOR NDRV3 CHAPTER 4
> 
> i know i attempted really hard to avoid ndrv3 spoilers but then at some point i just went on the fuckign wiki and spoiled everything for myself.
> 
> this mainly contains mentions of spoilers for chapter 4, but proceed at your own risk nonetheless

Maki is  _ furious. _

Alright, alright, she isn’t the nicest of people in the first place; she knows that, already. Despite her talent of a Caretaker, it’s an irony that isn’t lost on her in the first place. She’s stern, she’s separated, she’s apathetic. The others joke about it, sometimes, and if she gave more of a damn then yes, she’d be pissed, but honestly she doesn’t care, doesn’t care.

That being said, she hates Kokichi Ouma.

Not like she liked anyone in the first place; perhaps Kaede, perhaps Shuichi, and perhaps Kaito but that wasn’t until the feelings came rushing fast and furious out of the blue so it was a phase, wasn’t it? Those kinds of feelings were a phase, a stupid phase.

Not like anyone liked Kokichi Ouma in the first place. With his terrible attitude and constant teasing remarks and then Gonta killed someone and it wasn’t even his fault, it was Kokichi’s, and the  _ shit is he the Mastermind is everyone running with this alright alright alright. _

But what really tipped her over the edge, really, was his treatment to Kaito.

And so it’s why she’s standing, a knock-knock-knocking on his door and her left foot tap-tap-tapping impatiently in a way she never knew it could, because she’s got everything under control, after all. She isn’t an impatient person. She’s a calm person that someone named Kaede might’ve said that has an inner goodness, something that attracts children or whatever, she isn’t impatient in the slightest and she’d punch (ha) someone anyone who said otherwise--

Kokichi opens the door, bags under his eyes disappearing in a second as he sees the girl and grins.

“Oh, Maki-chan! I’m surprised that you came here, nishish--”

Maki shoves him to the ground, steps in, and closes the door. Kokichi slips, falls, and bangs his head on the tile with a noise that might’ve made someone else grimace but it only makes Maki grin.

There’s paper strewn on the ground, paper strewn  _ everywhere,  _ and honestly if she gave more of a damn about things she might’ve been interested in what the papers say because wow, they were mighty suspicious, weren’t they? 

But really, the only thought that was crossing her mind was that the only person who might’ve cared about this mess was Kirumi, and she wasn’t here right now, at the very least.

“Let’s not be hasty now, shall we?” Kokichi’s sprawled out on the floor, half-attempting to get up and half-attempting to simply get himself further away from Maki. “I know that you want to kill me but, really, if you’re going to do that I’d prefer they were on my own terms--”

“We’d all prefer a lot of things, here.” Maki spits, Kaito’s own knocked-over posture flashing like siren in her mind’s eye. “I’m sure Gonta-san would’ve preferred to live, wouldn’t he?”

“W-well, that couldn’t have been helped.”

“Could it?!” She fucking  _ loses it,  _ fist smashing against the wall and causing Amami’s hanging sculpture to shake (wait how the hell had that gotten in here well whatever), walking over to Kokichi in long, precise steps. “Want me to tell you want can’t be helped right now?”

She lunges for him, and Kokichi  _ scrambles,  _ throwing papers at her face and trying hard, trying  _ oh so pathetically hard  _ to run away, but instead he slips once again and hits his chin against the floor, letting out a pathetic noise.

Maki steps on his back, making him wince as she flips him over.

He stares back. “Do it. I dare you.” 

“Do you think I won’t?”

“No, I know you will.” Kokichi begins to flail, and because she’s an  _ idiot,  _ Maki is taken by surprise and loosens her hold on his back. In an instant, he’s on his feet and running out of the room, making her yell and reach out behind him, grabbing his scarf and making it tighten around his neck--

And the boy goes limp.

For a minute Maki thinks he’s dead, and she’s surprised that was all it took but then realizes that no, he’s breathing, damnit. Then it’s a matter of oh, he’s playing that trick again, isn’t he? Where he pretends he’s dead but he’s really not because it’s a joke, it’s all a joke to this piece of shit God knows if he’s had a serious thought in his life, if he’s had a serious concern for a human being.

She brings his ear so close to her face that she could bite it off, if she wanted, and  _ screams  _ in his ear. That ought to startle him shouldn’t it--

But he barely flinches, and the shallow breathing is starting to scare her.

His eyes are open, glazed over, not that kind of dead glazed either but that scary not-quite-dead-but-sure-as-hell-not-present-either glazed, and honestly although Maki thought she’d rather never see a worse look in someone’s eye than the look they had when they were dead, she’s not quite sure anymore.

All too suddenly she realizes that Kokichi feels all too small in her hands, all too skinny, and that this is a  _ child  _ she’s holding, a child who’s done terrible things but a fucking  _ child  _ nonetheless.

And maybe it's her talent, maybe it’s that goodness hidden deep within the recesses of her mind that Kaede was talking about, but suddenly Maki Harukawa isn’t all too certain about killing a child.

“Hey, wake up.” She says, tensely.

No response.

“I said, wake up!” She pinches his face, slaps it.

But Kokichi’s somewhere up in the ceiling, or maybe even further away than that, and not there with her.

“Get the _hell_ up!” There’s a note of panic in her voice, and she’s shaking him now, slapping him, and perhaps it’s her imagination but Kokichi makes a noise in her arms and she lets out a gasp of relief. “Thank _God…”_

It starts with the shivering, the trembling, and at first she thinks it’s her own arms that are shaking but no, it’s the boy in her arms. Then he’s sitting up, slightly, ever so slightly, still not quite aware of what’s going on but then he sees Maki’s face looking at him so closely and he’s off like a bullet.

“N-no, wait--” She says, but Kokichi is like a cornered animal, slipping on papers all over again and backing away into a corner of some sort once he realizes he can’t escape.

They sit like that, staring at each other for a full minute or two as they try to comprehend what just happened. Maki’s seen Kokichi lie, she’s seen him do it so many times that what little trust she might’ve held for anyone was smashed and crashed and burned, but the look of fear in his eyes looks so raw, so  _ genuine,  _ that she isn’t quite sure how to react.

“What…” Kokichi’s voice cracks to his obvious embarrassment, and he swallows before restarting. “What did you  _ do  _ to me?”

“Your scarf.” Maki says, and the boy is suddenly grasping at said accessory. “I...grabbed at it.”

“And?” God, this was pathetic, wasn’t it?

“And...you were gone, for a moment there.”

Kokichi swears a bit, hands rubbing his neck. “Ha ha, fell for that, didn’t you?”

“Pardon?”

There’s a tired laugh. “Get out.” He spits, and suddenly there’s that awful shaking in his body again.

“Ouma-kun…”

“You heard me, didn’t you? If you want to kill me, then come discuss it with me at a later time. Trust me, though, you’re gonna have to compete with quite a few people to get that honor. But get the fuck out of my room.”

Isn’t this supposed to be her talent? Talking to children, or whatever? Why can’t she think of anything to say to him? 

She sits there for another minute or two, resolving to move should the boy ask once more of her to do so.

But he doesn’t, and so she sits.

“Ouma-kun, is there something wrong with you?”

“Oh, I’d say there are a tons of things wrong with me, wouldn’t you? And I’m certain that you and your friends definitely agree with me.”

“That...isn’t what I meant.” She clears her throat awkwardly. “Did something happen to your…?” She motions at his neck.

He scoffs. “Promise not to tell anyone?”

Kokichi’s voice is surprisingly small, finally fitting his body for once, and Maki must have nodded because he continues on.

“I don’t know.” There’s a weird noise in the back of his throat. “I...I can’t remember anything happening to it but I can’t stand people touching my neck, strangling me or...whatever because then I go  _ there,  _ you know?”

“Yeah.” Maki says, but she doesn’t know.

“And now you’re gonna strangle me every time you see me.” Kokichi breathes, and stares at the papers on the floor. Maki only now realizes that they’re full of notes, of the people who’ve died, of their rooms, of question marks around the names of people who are still around, and she isn’t sure if that affirms or denies her (everyone’s) suspicions of him being the Mastermind.

“Ouma-kun…I won't, you know that.”

“Sorry. I know a liar when I see one - I'm an expert, after all." A pause. "Get out, please? I said that already.” The Supreme Leader is on his feet now, and if Maki keeps a promise with anyone, she keeps one with herself.

Bowing awkwardly, she steps out of the room and closes the door behind her.

She does not care for Kokichi Ouma, she thinks, but the sounds behind the door are upsetting, to say the very least.

**Author's Note:**

> i am aware that kokichi would not react in this manner to being strangled due to the fact he has been choked multiple times by maki in canon, but let me have my headcanons
> 
> also this isn't a ship fic by any means; oumaki would probably be an extremely toxic ship if it were to ever be canon


End file.
